"'Well, now ye know me name an' me position in life, and we'll proceed to business. What I was about to ask ye was whether ye think it loikely that this holy friend of yours could be persuaded to take up the cause of Home Rule for Oireland.'
"I pointed out the obvious difficulty—that the Holy Man was a Mohammedan, and that the Irish people were not; but Mr. Biggar was not disconcerted.
"'I've thought of that, sorr,' he replied. 'I was thinking of that over the first glass of whisky; and the way out of the difficulty is now clear to me. All that ye have to do is to put it to the Holy Man in this way—that the down-trodden Oirish people are prevented from becoming Mohammedans because they have not yet obtained Home Rule.'
"I congratulated Mr. Biggar on the ingenuity of his argument, and he advanced it a step further.
"'I'm thinkin', Mr. Stromboli, that the party to which I hold the confidential position of treasurer might perhaps make it worth y'r while to pay a visit to Mr. Senussi.'
"'The Senussi,' I corrected,
"'Ah! So they say The Senussi, just as we say The O'Donoghue. It's a further bond of union between us. And as I was saying, I'm thinking it might be made worth y'r while to go and see him, and present him with me compliments—the compliments of Mr. Joseph Gillis Biggar—and suggest to him that he should create a divarsion in the direction of Egypt, at the time when the Oirish members are moving the adjournment of the House of Commons. Will ye tell me now what ye think of the proposal?'
"I looked him in the face to make sure that he was sober and in earnest. I saw that he was both, and raised no objection when he called for a third glass of whisky.
"'Voyons! Mr. Biggar,' I said. 'This is a very dangerous mission on which you propose to send me. Are you aware that the oasis in which the Senussi lives is surrounded by Arabs who have absolutely no other work to do except to murder all strangers who approach it without satisfactory credentials?'
"But Mr. Biggar was not confounded by the question.